Bonaventure

Cap. I.

De Trinitate et Unitate.

Hoc itaque¹ vera ac pia fide tenendum est, «quod Trinitas sit unus et solus verus Deus, ut ait Augustinus in primo libro de Trinitate², scilicet Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus; et haec Trinitas unius eiusdemque substantiae vel essentiae dicitur, creditur et³ intelligitur, quae est summum bonum, quod purgatissimis mentibus cernitur. Mentis enim humanae acies invalida in tam excellenti luce non figitur, nisi per iustitiam fidei enutriatur». Idem in libro primo Retractationum⁴: «Non approbo quod in oratione dixi: Deus, qui non nisi mundos verum scire voluisti. Responderi enim potest, multos etiam non mundos multa scire vera. De hac igitur re⁵ summa et excellentissima cum modestia et timore agendum est, et attentissimis auribus atque devotis audiendum, ubi quaeritur unitas Trinitatis, Patris scilicet et Filii et Spiritus sancti, quia nec periculosius alicubi erratur, nec laboriosius aliquid quaeritur, nec fructuosius aliquid invenitur»⁶. Proinde omnis, qui audit et legit ea quae de ineffabili et inaccessibili luce Deitatis⁷ dicuntur, studeat imitari atque servare, quod venerabilis Doctor Augustinus in primo libro de Trinitate⁸ de se ipso ait: «Non pigebit me, inquit, sicubi haesito, quaerere, nec pudebit, sicubi erro, discere. Quisquis ergo audit haec vel legit, ubi pariter certus est, pergat mecum; ubi pariter haesitat, quaerat mecum; ubi errorem suum cognoscit, redeat ad me; ubi meum, revocet me. Ita ingrediamur simul caritatis viam, tendentes ad eum de quo dictum est⁹: Quaerite faciem eius semper».

Cap. II.

Quae fuerit intentio scribentium de Trinitate.

«Omnes autem catholici tractatores, ut in eodem¹⁰ Augustinus ait, qui de Trinitate, quae Deus est, scripserunt, hoc intenderunt secundum Scripturas docere, quod Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus unius sint¹¹ substantiae et inseparabili aequalitate unus sint Deus, ut sit unitas in essentia et pluralitas in personis; ideoque non sunt tres dii, sed unus Deus, licet Pater Filium genuerit, et ideo Filius non sit qui Pater est; Filiusque a Patre sit genitus, et¹² ideo Pater non sit qui Filius est; et Spiritus sanctus nec Pater sit nec Filius, sed tantum Patris et Filii Spiritus utrique coaequalis et ad Trinitatis pertinens unitatem». «Teneamus igitur, Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum unum esse naturaliter Deum, ut ait Augustinus in libro de Fide ad Petrum¹³; neque tamen ipsum Patrem esse qui Filius est; nec Filium ipsum esse qui Pater est; nec Spiritum sanctum ipsum esse qui Pater est aut Filius. Una est enim Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti essentia, quam Graeci usian¹⁴ vocant, in qua non est aliud Pater, aliud Filius, aliud Spiritus sanctus, quamvis sit personaliter alius Pater, alius Filius, alius Spiritus sanctus».

Cap. III.

Quis ordo sit servandus, cum de Trinitate agitur.

Ceterum, ut in libro primo de Trinitate¹⁵ Augustinus docet: «Primum¹⁶ secundum auctoritates sanctarum Scripturarum, utrum fides ita se habeat, demonstrandum est. Deinde adversus garrulos ratiocinatores, elatiores quam capaciores, rationibus catholicis et similitudinibus congruis ad defensionem et assertionem¹⁷ fidei utendum est, ut eorum inquisitionibus satisfacientes, mansuetos plenius instruamus, et illi, si nequiverint invenire quod quaerunt, de suis mentibus potius quam de ipsa veritate vel de nostra dissertione conquerantur».

Cap. IV.

De testimoniis veteris Testamenti, quibus Trinitatis mysterium declaratur.

Proponamus ergo in medium veteris ac novi Testamenti auctoritates, quibus divinae Unitatis atque Trinitatis veritas demonstretur. Ac primum ipsa Legis exordia occurrant, ubi Moyses ait¹⁸: Audi Israel, Dominus Deus tuus Deus unus est. Item¹⁹: Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui eduxi te de terra Aegypti; non erunt tibi alii dii praeter me. Ecce hic significavit unitatem divinae naturae. «Deus enim et Dominus, ut ait Ambrosius in primo libro de Trinitate²⁰, nomen est naturae, nomen est potestatis». Item alibi Deus loquens ad Moysen ait²¹: Ego sum qui sum, et si quaesierint nomen meum, vade et dic eis: Qui est, misit me ad vos. Dicens enim Ego sum, non Nos sumus, et Qui est, non Qui sumus, apertissime declaravit, unum solum Deum esse. In Cantico etiam Exodi²² legitur: Dominus, omnipotens nomen eius; non ait Domini, unitatem volens significare.

Personarum quoque pluralitatem et naturae unitatem simul ostendit Dominus in Genesi dicens²³: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. Dicens enim faciamus et nostram, pluralitatem personarum ostendit: dicens vero imaginem, unitatem essentiae. Ut enim dicit Augustinus in libro de Fide ad Petrum²⁴: «Si in illa natura Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti una esset tantum persona, non diceretur: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. Cum enim dicit ad imaginem, ostendit, unam naturam esse, ad cuius imaginem homo fieret; cum vero dicit nostram, ostendit, eundem Deum non unam, sed plures esse personas».

Hilarius quoque in libro tertio de Trinitate²⁵ dicit, his verbis significari, quod in Trinitate nec diversitas est, nec singularitas vel solitudo, sed similitudo et pluralitas sive distinctio. Ait enim sic: «Qui dixit: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram, invicem esse sui similes in eo quod dicit: imaginem et similitudinem nostram, ostendit». «Imago enim sola non est, et similitudo non sibi est²⁶; neque diversitatem duobus admisceri alterius ad alterum similitudo permittit». Item idem in quarto libro²⁷: «Absolutius voluit intelligi, significationem hanc non ad se tantum esse referendam, dicendo: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram; professio enim consortii sustulit intelligentiam singularis²⁸, quia consortium aliquod non potest esse sibi ipsi solitario, neque rursum solitudo solitarii recipit faciamus, neque quisquam alieno a se loquitur nostram. Uterque sermo, scilicet faciamus et nostram, ut solitarium eundemque non patitur, ita neque diversum a se alienumque significat. Solitario convenit faciam et meam; non solitario vero convenit dicere faciamus et nostram. Uterque sermo, ut non solitarium tantum, ita neque differentem esse vel diversum esse significat. Nobis quoque nec solitarius, nec diversus est confitendus. Ita ergo Deus ad communem sibi cum Deo imaginem eandemque similitudinem hominem reperitur operari; ut nec significatio efficientis admittat intelligentiam solitudinis, nec operatio constituta ad eandem imaginem vel similitudinem patiatur diversitatem divinitatis».

In his verbis Hilarius pluralitatem personarum voluit intelligi nomine consortii, atque significavit, nomine consortii vel pluralitatis non poni aliquid, sed removeri. Pluralitas enim vel consortium personarum cum dicitur, solitudo et singularitas negatur; cum dicimus, plures esse personas, significamus, quod non est una sola. Ideo Hilarius volens ista subtiliter et sane intelligi, ait: «Professio consortii sustulit intelligentiam singularis», non dicit posuit aliquid. Ita etiam cum dicimus tres personas, singularitatem et solitudinem tollimus, et²⁹ quod Pater non est solus, nec Filius est solus, nec Spiritus sanctus est solus, significamus, et quod nec Pater tantum est et Filius, nec Pater tantum et Spiritus sanctus, nec Filius tantum et Spiritus sanctus. De hoc autem in sequenti³⁰ plenius agetur, ubi etiam secundum quid similes dicantur tres personae, et utrum aliquo modo sit ibi diversitas vel differentia, ostendetur.

Nunc vero ad propositum redeamus et ad ostendendam personarum pluralitatem atque essentiae divinae unitatem alias Sanctorum auctoritates inducamus. Moyses dicit³¹: In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram, per Deum significans Patrem, per principium Filium.

Et pro eo quod apud nos dicitur Deus, Hebraica veritas habet heloim, quod est plurale huius singularis, quod est hel. Quod ergo non est dictum hel, quod est Deus, sed heloim, quod potest interpretari dii sive iudices, ad pluralitatem personarum refertur. Ad quam etiam illud attinere videtur, quod diabolus per serpentem dixit³²: Eritis sicut dii, pro quo in Hebraeo habetur heloim, ac si diceret: eritis sicut divinae personae. Ille etiam maximus Prophetarum et regum, David, qui suam ceteris praefert intelligentiam dicens³³: Super senes intellexi, unitatem divinae naturae ostendens ait: Dominus nomen est illi; non dicit Domini. Alibi³⁴ etiam eiusdem unitatem et aeternitatem simul ostendens ait ex persona Dei³⁵: Israel, si me audieris, non erit in te Deus recens, neque adorabis Deum alienum. «Aliud horum, ut dicit Ambrosius in libro primo de Trinitate³⁶, significat aeternitatem, aliud unitatem substantiae indifferentis, ut neque posteriorem Patre, neque alterius divinitatis Filium vel Spiritum sanctum esse credamus. Nam si Patre posterior est Filius vel Spiritus sanctus, recens est; et si unius non est divinitatis, alienus est; sed nec posterior est, quia recens non est, nec alienus, quia ex Patre natus est Filius, ex Patre processit³⁷ Spiritus sanctus». Alibi quoque distinctionem personarum insinuans ait³⁸: Verbo Domini caeli firmati sunt, et spiritu oris eius omnis virtus eorum. Alibi etiam ait³⁹: Benedicat nos Deus, Deus noster, benedicat nos Deus, et metuant eum omnes fines terrae. Trina enim confessio Dei trinitatem exprimit personarum; unitatem vero essentiae aperit, cum singulariter subiungit eum.

Isaias quoque dicit⁴⁰, se audisse Seraphim clamantia: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus. Per hoc quod dicit ter Sanctus, Trinitatem significat: per hoc quod subdit Dominus Deus, unitatem essentiae. David quoque aeternam Filii generationem aperte insinuat ex persona Filii dicens⁴¹: Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. De hac ineffabili generatione Isaias ait⁴²: Generationem eius quis enarrabit? In libro quoque Sapientiae aeternitas Filii cum Patre monstratur, ubi Sapientia ita loquitur⁴³: Dominus possedit me in initio viarum suarum, antequam quidquam faceret a principio; ab aeterno ordinata sum, antequam terra fieret; necdum erant abyssi, et ego iam concepta eram; necdum fontes aquarum, necdum montes aut colles, et ego parturiebar; adhuc terram non fecerat et cardines orbis terrae; quando praeparabat caelos, aderam; quando appendebat fundamenta terrae, cum eo eram cuncta componens, et delectabar per singulos dies, ludens coram eo. Ecce apertum⁴⁴ de aeterna genitura testimonium, quo ipsa Sapientia perhibet, se ante mundum conceptam esse et parturiri, id est genitam esse, et apud Patrem aeternaliter existere. Ipsa etiam alibi ait⁴⁵: Ego ex ore Altissimi prodii, primogenita ante omnem creaturam. Michaeas quoque Propheta aeternam Verbi generationem et temporalem ex Maria simul insinuavit dicens⁴⁶: Et tu, Bethlehem Ephrata, parvulus es in millibus Iuda: ex te egredietur qui sit dominator in Israel, et egressus eius ab initio, a diebus aeternitatis.

De Spiritu sancto etiam expressa documenta in veteri Testamento habemus. In Genesi⁴⁷ legitur: Spiritus Domini ferebatur super aquas. Etenim David dicit: Quo ibo a Spiritu tuo? Et in libro Sapientiae⁴⁸ dicitur: Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum, benignus est enim spiritus sapientiae. Isaias quoque ait: Spiritus Domini super me etc.

Cap. V.

De testimoniis novi Testamenti ad idem pertinentibus.

Nunc vero post testimonia veteris Testamenti de fide sanctae Trinitatis et Unitatis ad novi Testamenti auctoritates accedamus, ut in medio duorum animalium⁴⁹ (id est Testamentorum) cognoscatur veritas, et forcipe de altari sumatur calculus, quo tangantur ora fidelium. Dominus itaque Christus unitatem divinae essentiae ac personarum trinitatem aperte insinuat dicens Apostolis⁵⁰: Ite, baptizate omnes gentes in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti. «In nomine utique ait, ut Ambrosius ait in libro primo de Trinitate, non in nominibus», ut unitas essentiae ostendatur; per nomina tria, quae supposuit, tres esse personas declaravit. «Ipse etiam ait: Ego et Pater unum sumus. Unum dixit, ut ait Ambrosius in eodem libro, ne fiat discretio potestatis et naturae; et addidit sumus, ut Patrem Filiumque cognoscas, scilicet ut perfectus Pater Filium perfectum genuisse credatur, et quod Pater et Filius unum sint, non confusione personae, sed unitate naturae». Ioannes quoque in Epistola canonica ait⁵¹: Tres sunt, qui testimonium perhibent in caelo: Pater, Verbum et Spiritus sanctus, et hi tres unum sunt. Ipse etiam in initio Evangelii sui ait: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum; ubi aperte ostendit, Filium semper et aeternaliter fuisse apud Patrem, ut alium apud alium. Apostolus quoque aperte trinitatem distinguit dicens⁵²: Misit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in corda nostra. Et alibi⁵³: Si spiritus eius, qui suscitavit Iesum, habitat in nobis etc. Item alibi trinitatem atque unitatem evidentissime commendat dicens: Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia, ipsi gloria. «Ex ipso dicit, ut Augustinus in libro de Trinitate⁵⁴ ait, propter Patrem; per ipsum dicit propter Filium; in ipso propter Spiritum sanctum». Per hoc vero, quod non ait ex ipsis, per ipsos et in ipsis, nec ait ipsis gloria, sed ipsi, insinuavit, hanc Trinitatem unum Dominum⁵⁵ Deum esse. Sed quia singulae pene syllabae novi Testamenti hanc ineffabilis Unitatis atque Trinitatis veritatem concorditer insinuant, inductioni testimoniorum super hac re supersedeamus et rationibus congruisque similitudinibus ita esse, prout infirmitas nostra valet, ostendamus.

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Ch. 1.

On the Trinity and Unity.

This, then, is to be held with true and pious faith¹: «that the Trinity is one and the only true God, as Augustine says in the first book On the Trinity² — namely, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; and this Trinity is said, believed, and³ understood to be of one and the same substance or essence, which is the highest good, which is discerned by the most purified minds. For the feeble eye of the human mind is not fixed upon so excellent a light unless it is nourished by the righteousness of faith». The same author says in the first book of the Retractations⁴: «I do not approve what I said in prayer: O God, who hast willed that only the pure should know the truth. For it can be answered that many who are not pure know many true things. Therefore, concerning this matter⁵ — the highest and most excellent — we must proceed with modesty and fear, and we must listen with the most attentive and devout ears, where the unity of the Trinity is investigated — that is, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit — because nowhere is error more dangerous, nowhere is anything sought with more labor, nowhere is anything found with more fruit»⁶. Accordingly, let everyone who hears and reads what is said about the ineffable and inaccessible light of the Godhead⁷ strive to imitate and to preserve what the venerable Doctor Augustine says of himself in the first book On the Trinity⁸: «I shall not be ashamed, wherever I hesitate, to ask; nor shall I blush, wherever I err, to learn. Whoever, then, hears or reads these things, where he is equally certain, let him go forward with me; where he equally hesitates, let him seek with me; where he recognizes his own error, let him return to me; where mine, let him call me back. Thus let us enter together upon the way of charity, tending toward him of whom it is said⁹: Seek his face always».

Ch. 2.

What the intention of those writing on the Trinity was.

«All the Catholic writers», as Augustine says in the same work¹⁰, «who have written on the Trinity, which is God, have intended this — to teach according to the Scriptures that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are¹¹ of one substance and by inseparable equality are one God, so that there is unity in essence and plurality in persons; and so there are not three gods, but one God, although the Father has begotten the Son, and therefore the Son is not the one who the Father is; and the Son has been begotten by the Father, and¹² therefore the Father is not the one who the Son is; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, coequal with each and belonging to the unity of the Trinity». «Let us therefore hold, as Augustine says in the book On Faith to Peter¹³, that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are by nature one God; yet that the Father himself is not the one who the Son is; nor the Son himself the one who the Father is; nor the Holy Spirit himself the one who the Father is or the Son. For there is one essence of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, which the Greeks call ousia¹⁴, in which the Father is not one thing, the Son another, the Holy Spirit another — although personally the Father is one, the Son another, the Holy Spirit another».

Ch. 3.

What order is to be observed when one treats of the Trinity.

Furthermore, as Augustine teaches in the first book On the Trinity¹⁵: «First¹⁶, according to the authorities of the Holy Scriptures, it must be demonstrated whether the faith is thus. Then, against those prattling reasoners who are more haughty than capable, we must make use of Catholic reasonings and fitting analogies for the defense and assertion¹⁷ of the faith, so that, satisfying their inquiries, we may the more fully instruct the meek; and those, if they cannot find what they seek, may rather complain of their own minds than of the truth itself or of our own treatment».

Ch. 4.

On the testimonies of the Old Testament, by which the mystery of the Trinity is declared.

Let us therefore set forth the authorities of the Old and New Testaments, by which the truth of the divine Unity and Trinity may be shown. And first let the very beginnings of the Law come forth, where Moses says¹⁸: Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God. Likewise¹⁹: I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt; thou shalt have no other gods before me. Behold, here he signified the unity of the divine nature. «For God and Lord, as Ambrose says in the first book On the Trinity²⁰, is the name of nature, the name of power». Again elsewhere God, speaking to Moses, says²¹: I am who am, and if they ask my name, go and tell them: He who is hath sent me to you. For by saying I am, not We are, and Who is, not Who are, he most plainly declared that there is only one God. Also in the Canticle of Exodus²² it is read: The Lord — Almighty is his name; he does not say of the Lords, wishing to signify unity.

The Lord also showed at once the plurality of persons and the unity of nature in Genesis when he said²³: Let us make man to our image and likeness. For by saying let us make and our, he showed the plurality of persons; but by saying to the image, the unity of essence. As Augustine says in the book On Faith to Peter²⁴: «For if in that nature of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit there had been only one person, it would not have been said: Let us make man to our image and likeness. For when he says to the image, he shows that there is one nature, to whose image man was made; but when he says our, he shows that the same God is not one, but several persons».

Hilary, too, in the third book On the Trinity²⁵ says that by these words it is signified that in the Trinity there is neither diversity nor singularity nor solitude, but likeness and plurality, or distinction. For he says thus: «He who said: Let us make man to our image and likeness, showed that they are like each other in that he says: our image and likeness». «For an image is not an image all by itself, and a likeness is not a likeness unto itself²⁶; nor does a likeness admit of two being mixed together in the otherness of one to another». Likewise the same author says in the fourth book²⁷: «More absolutely he wished it to be understood that this signification was not to be referred to himself alone, by saying: Let us make man to our image and likeness. For the confession of partnership took away the understanding of singularity²⁸; since no partnership can belong to one alone and solitary, nor again does the solitude of a solitary admit the word let us make, nor does anyone speak of ours to one who is alien from himself. Both expressions — namely let us make and ours — just as they do not allow one and the same solitary speaker, so neither do they signify anything diverse from or alien to that speaker. To one who is alone it is fitting to say I will make and mine; but to one who is not alone it is fitting to say let us make and ours. Both expressions, just as they signify not merely solitude, so also they do not signify being different or diverse. To us also he is to be confessed neither solitary nor diverse. Thus therefore God is found to work toward an image and likeness common to himself with God; so that neither does the signification of the agent admit of the understanding of solitude, nor does the operation directed toward the same image or likeness suffer any diversity of divinity».

In these words Hilary wished the plurality of persons to be understood under the name of partnership, and signified that by the name of partnership or plurality nothing is posited but rather something is removed. For when the plurality or partnership of persons is spoken of, solitude and singularity are denied; when we say that there are several persons, we signify that there is not one alone. Therefore Hilary, wishing these things to be understood with subtlety and soundness, says: «The confession of partnership took away the understanding of singularity», — he does not say that it posited anything. So also when we say three persons, we remove singularity and solitude, and²⁹ we signify that the Father is not alone, nor is the Son alone, nor is the Holy Spirit alone, and that there is not only the Father and the Son, nor only the Father and the Holy Spirit, nor only the Son and the Holy Spirit. But of this there will be a fuller treatment below³⁰, where it will also be shown in what respect the three persons are said to be alike, and whether there is any diversity or difference there in any way.

But now let us return to the subject and, to show the plurality of persons and the unity of the divine essence, let us adduce other authorities of the Saints. Moses says³¹: In the beginning God created heaven and earth, signifying by God the Father, and by beginning the Son. And because that which among us is called God, the Hebrew has Elohim, which is the plural of this singular, El. Therefore the fact that he did not say El, which is God, but Elohim, which can be rendered gods or judges, is referred to the plurality of persons. And to this it seems to pertain also that the devil through the serpent said³²: You shall be as gods, for which the Hebrew has Elohim, as if he said: You shall be as divine persons. That greatest of Prophets and kings, David, too, who prefers his own understanding to the rest when he says³³: I have understood beyond the elders, showing the unity of the divine nature says: The Lord is his name; he does not say of the Lords. Elsewhere³⁴ also, showing at the same time his unity and his eternity, he speaks in the person of God³⁵: Israel, if thou wilt hear me, there shall be no new god in thee, nor shalt thou adore a strange god. «One of these, as Ambrose says in the first book On the Trinity³⁶, signifies eternity; the other, the unity of an undifferentiated substance — so that we believe neither that the Son or the Holy Spirit is later than the Father, nor that he is of a different divinity. For if the Son or the Holy Spirit is later than the Father, he is new; and if he is not of one divinity, he is strange. But neither is he later, because he is not new; nor is he strange, because the Son is born from the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds³⁷ from the Father». Elsewhere also, hinting at the distinction of persons, he says³⁸: By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of his mouth all their power. And elsewhere he says³⁹: May God, our God, bless us; may God bless us, and let all the ends of the earth fear him. For the threefold confession expresses the trinity of persons in God; and the unity of essence it makes clear when it adds him in the singular.

Isaiah also says⁴⁰ that he heard the Seraphim crying out: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God. By saying Holy three times, he signifies the Trinity; by adding the Lord God, the unity of essence. David also clearly suggests the eternal generation of the Son, speaking in the person of the Son⁴¹: The Lord said to me: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Concerning this ineffable generation Isaiah says⁴²: Who shall declare his generation? In the book of Wisdom also the coeternity of the Son with the Father is shown, where Wisdom speaks thus⁴³: The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning; I was set up from eternity, before the earth was made; the depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived; the fountains of waters had not yet sprung out, neither had the mountains nor the hills as yet been established, and I was in labor; as yet the earth had not been made, nor the hinges of the world; when he prepared the heavens I was present; when he balanced the foundations of the earth, I was with him forming all things, and I was delighted every day, playing before him. Behold, a plain⁴⁴ testimony of eternal begetting, by which Wisdom itself bears witness that she was conceived and brought forth before the world — that is, was begotten — and exists eternally with the Father. The same Wisdom says elsewhere⁴⁵: I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature. The Prophet Micah also suggested at once the eternal generation of the Word and the temporal generation from Mary, saying⁴⁶: And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, art a little one among the thousands of Judah: out of thee shall he come forth who shall be ruler in Israel; and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.

Of the Holy Spirit also we have express documents in the Old Testament. In Genesis⁴⁷ it is read: The Spirit of the Lord moved over the waters. And David says: Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? And in the book of Wisdom⁴⁸ it is said: The Holy Spirit of discipline will flee the deceitful, for the spirit of wisdom is benign. Isaiah also says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me etc.

Ch. 5.

On the testimonies of the New Testament pertaining to the same.

Now, after the testimonies of the Old Testament concerning the faith of the holy Trinity and Unity, let us come to the authorities of the New Testament, that in the midst of two living creatures⁴⁹ (that is, of the Testaments) the truth may be known, and that a coal may be taken from the altar with tongs, by which the lips of the faithful may be touched. Therefore the Lord Christ openly suggests the unity of the divine essence and the trinity of persons, saying to the Apostles⁵⁰: Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. «He says 'in the name' — as Ambrose says in the first book On the Trinity — not 'in the names'», so that the unity of essence might be shown; through the three names, which he set down, he declared that there are three persons. «He also says: I and the Father are one. He said one, as Ambrose says in the same book, lest there be a separation of power and nature; and he added are, so that you may know the Father and the Son — namely, that the perfect Father is believed to have begotten a perfect Son, and that the Father and the Son are one, not by confusion of person, but by unity of nature». John also in his canonical Epistle says⁵¹: There are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. The same also at the beginning of his Gospel says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; where he openly shows that the Son was always and eternally with the Father — as one with another. The Apostle also openly distinguishes the Trinity, saying⁵²: God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And elsewhere⁵³: If the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus dwells in us, etc. Likewise elsewhere he most evidently commends both the Trinity and the Unity, saying: For of him, and through him, and in him are all things; to him be glory. «He says of him, as Augustine says in the book On the Trinity⁵⁴, on account of the Father; through him on account of the Son; in him on account of the Holy Spirit». And by this — that he did not say of them, through them, and in them, nor to them be glory, but to him — he suggested that this Trinity is one Lord⁵⁵ God. But since almost every syllable of the New Testament harmoniously suggests this truth of the ineffable Unity and Trinity, let us desist from adducing further testimonies on this matter, and let us show by fitting reasons and analogies that it is so, insofar as our weakness avails.

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